Oktoberfest 2019
Festive start to the opening of the Oktoberfest
A good 1,000 participants take part in the festive procession of Oktoberfest landlords and breweries to the Theresienwiese. First and foremost, the Münchner Kindl on horseback and the festival carriage of the Lord Mayor of Munich, followed by the flower-decorated carriages of the Oktoberfest landlords and their families, festival floats, bands and, of course, the magnificent carriages of the Munich breweries pulled by cold-blooded horses.
Traditional start date: the first Saturday of the Wiesn
The procession of the festival hosts is the official start of the Oktoberfest. It therefore takes place on the first Saturday of the Oktoberfest before the famous "O'zapft is!": Next time on Saturday, September 21, 2019 from 10:45 am. On Sunday, September 22, 2019 from 10 a.m., the traditional costume and marksmen parade will follow.
Let's go to the Wiesn: the parade route
The march starts in Josephspitalstraße behind Sendlinger Tor, continues along Sonnenstraße and turns left into Schwanthaler Straße. Here it goes straight on to Bavariaring, from where it goes directly onto Wirtsbudenstraße and into the respective festival tents. The Lord Mayor opens the Oktoberfest in the Schottenhamel-Festhalle at 12 noon sharp with the traditional "O'zapft is".
"O'zapft is!" at 12 o'clock sharp: no Wiesn without tapping!
Every year, the tapping in the Schottenhamel-Festhalle is the starting signal for the Oktoberfest. At 12 noon sharp on the first Saturday of the Wiesn, as tradition dictates, the Lord Mayor taps the first beer barrel and opens the Wiesn with the exclamation "O'zapft is!".
Tapping with as few strokes as possible: the perfect tapping
The tapping of the first beer keg at the Wiesn always takes place in the Schottenhamel festival tent according to tradition. The Lord Mayor of Munich makes every effort to tap the beer with as few strokes as possible in order to fill the first pint, which is always served to the incumbent Bavarian Prime Minister according to the old custom. The record for the perfect tapping is two strokes - the record is shared by former Lord Mayor Christian Ude and Dieter Reiter. Mayor Thomas Wimmer (SPD), who introduced the traditional tapping in 1950, needed 17 strokes!
Why does the tapping take place at Schottenhamel?
"O'zapft is!" can be heard from the Schottenhamel festival hall because it was there that the beer was "officially" tapped for the first time in 1950 by Thomas Wimmer, the Lord Mayor at the time. The story goes that he rushed to the Schottenhamel for the Oktoberfest opening because he was running a little short - he had to open a fair on the Theresienhöhe shortly before 12 noon. What's more, it was pouring with rain on that September Saturday in 1950, which meant that Mayor Wimmer took the shortest route into a tent. Whether this is exactly what happened or whether it is more of a Wiesn legend is not well documented.
12 firecrackers ring in the beer tapping
After the successful tapping, the twelve traditional firecrackers fired in front of the Bavaria signal to the other festival tents on the Wiesn: Oktoberfest is open, the beer can now flow into the beer mugs! Even though the Wiesn tents are open from 9 a.m. on the first Saturday, beer may only be served in all tents after the shots have been fired.
Detailed Wiesn plan: All tents, rides and stands
You want to know exactly where which ride is at the Wiesn? The detailed map of the Theresienwiese shows the locations of all rides, Wiesn tents, food stands, toilets, ATMs, emergency call pillars and other details.
Download the detailed Wiesn map (PDF)
Image source: www.oktoberfest.de
